Airplane construction



Patented July 28, 1931 PATENT OFFICE WILLIAM I-I. NELSCI-I, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI AIRPLANE CONSTRUCTION Application filed March 24, 1930. Serial No. 438,604.

My invention relates to improvements in airplane construction, and has among its main objects, to provide such a construction which shall be simple, convenient, sturdy, reliable, and eiiicient and satisfactory for use wherever found applicable.

The invention has among its other objects, a construction of the kind described, in which an airplane may be driven along the ordinary highways, along the ground, as well as operated aloft in the air. In the ordinary construction of airplanes, all of the lateral steering must be done from the rear or tail end of the airplane, even while moving along the ground. This manner of steering, although fairly well adapted for steering while in the air, is quite unsatisfactory for steering along the ground and is only a make-shift mode of operation in the latter condition of travel.

Further, even though the steering along the ground were considered safe to persons and objects adjacent the driven airplane, yet the wing spread of even the small airplanes would not permit of such method lof travel along the ordinary well-traveled highway, as the airplane would need all of the road, and of course could not pass through or under bridges, culverts, etc.

Therefore, in my invention, I have provided means whereby the supporting wheels for the airplane may be steered from the operators seat within the fuselage, while on the ground, and in order to provide for traveling along the ordinary traflic lanes along the ground,vand permit of other vehicles passing alongside, the wings are so constructed that they may be folded back toward the tail end of the airplane and thus present a minimum of wingspread.

Another object of my invention is to provide a single steering element for steering the airplane either while in the air or after -it is upon the ground, said element being selectively engageable with either the ordinary tail controls or with the steerable wheels, quickly, easily and positively.

Many other objects and advantages of the construction herein shown and described will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains, from the disclosures herein given.

To this end, my inventionA consists in the .novel construction, arrangement and combination of parts herein show and described, and more particularly pointed out in the claim.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters indicate like or corresponding parts throughout the views,

Figure l is a top plan view of an airplane showing my improved construction therein;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same;

Figure 3 is a sectional view, taken substantially along the lines 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional detail, taken substantially along the lines 4 4; of Fig. 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawe ings, wherein I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, A represents an airplane of any suitable size, design and shape, and preferably of the monoplane type shown. l indicates the fuselage or body of the airplane, the power plant being indicated at 2 and rotating the propeller 3, the lateral or vertical steering of the airplane being accomplished through cables 4 which are connected in any suitable manner as to the tail rudder 5.

The wing or plane that supports the airplane while aloft is in the present instance made of a pair of like sections 6 6, and are detachably connected to an intermediate member 7 so as to form a rigid, unitary structure well adapted to the use for which it is intended. This intermediate connecting member 7 may be made of any suitable material that is considered strong enou h for the purpose and its top surface may t(be stream-lined so that it will not impair the efficiency of the wings.

rlhe member 7 may be in the form of a plate having a central ridge or partition 8 to provide a pair of wing-receiving recesses, slots or openings, one at each side, to receive the adjacent ends of the sections 6 6 of the plane, the top portion of the plate overlying both of these adjacent plane sections. As shown, this plate member may be secured across the top of the fuselage, somewhat as indicated, and each section of the wing is rounded off at said adjoining ends as at 9 for a purpose to be more clearly hereinafter set forth.

A bolt 10, or other suitable fastening element, is inserted through the end of the plane sections at said rounded corner, and

through the plate and fuselage, to form a pivot for the wing sections, so that each wing section may be folded rearwardly toward the tail of the airplane as shown in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2 and reduce the wing spread to a minimum amount. Additional fastening bolts 11 are provided through the movable wing sections and the fixed parts of the plate and fuselage, to maintain the sections 6 6 in substantially horizontal, aligned position (shown in full lines) and prevent accidental relative movement between the wing sections and the fixed parts of the airplane. Struts 12 may be provided to brace the wings against the fuselage, and in the present embodiment, these struts are detachably connected to the fuselage at either the forward or rear ends of the same, lugs 13 and 14 being provided upon the fuselage for this purpose, the struts themselves being connected at their other ends to the wing sections, with preferably some sort of a ball joint or other universal connection 15. Therefore in either normal or folded positions of the wing sections, they will be held against accidental relative movement with the fuselage.

Ordinarily, the wheels supporting the airplane will permit of no steering thereat, as the wheels are mounted only for straightaway travel of the plane. All steering therefore, must be done by the operation of the rear of the machine. In the structure shown, the wheels 1(3 16 at the front are pivotally mounted upon the supporting axle 17 hung below the fuselage so that they may be steered in the manner of the common automobile front wheels, the steering bar being indicated at 18, and having a steering rod or shaft 19 operatively connected thereto and terminating within the fuselage. Any suitable lock may be used for locking the shaft 19 against rotation, as for example a pin 20.

A steering wheel 21 is preferably detachably connected with the upper end of the steering shaft, and shiftable out of operative engagement therewith when desired, the position shown in Fig. 4 indicating the operative position of the steering wheel for controlling the ground wheels 1(i 16.

Obviously, the pin 20 must be disengaged from locking engagement with the shaft 19 while the steering of the wheels 1(3 16 is being done. In order that the same steering wheel may be used for steering at all times, both while the machine is aloft, as well as when it is upon the ground, I have provided a mechanism whereby this result is obtained.

To this end, a hollow sleeve 22 is rotatably mounted in the fuselage surrounding the shaft 19, the same having a pair of arms 23 23 secured thereto and to the ends of which the tail rudder control cables 4-4 are to be connected. The sleeve 22 is provided with a keyway 24 engageable with a key 25 carried by the steering wheel 21, the upper end of the shaft 19 being also provided with a similar keyway 26 that is also engageable by the key 25. A spring detent 27 may be used to hold the steering wheel in either of the two positions of its operation. IVhen the airplane is aloft, the shaft 19 is locked against rotation, and the steering wheel is pressed down so that the key engages in the keyway 24, whereupon any rotation of the steering wheel will effect a corresponding steering movement of the tail rudder through the cables 4 4.

As soon as one has landed, the pin 2O is disengaged, and the steering wheel moved into engagement with the steering shaft 19, whereupon any rotation of the steering wheel will have no effect upon the cables 4 4, but upon the contrary, will effect the steering of the wheels 1G 1G. When it is desired to drive along the highway, the wings are folded back against the fuselage, to thereby present a minimum of wing spread.

An additional safety measure that may be required when driving along the ordinary traffic lanes, is that the propeller be guarded, and to this end, I have provided a substantially semi-circular band spaced about the under half of the path of rotation of the propeller, as shown at 28.

Having thus described my invention, it is obvious that various immaterial modifications may be made in the same without departing from the spirit of my invention; hence I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exact form, construction, arrangement, and combination of parts herein shown and described, except as limited by the state of the art.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In an airplane, the combination with a fuselage, of a supporting plane therefor adapted to be fixed in either its plane-sup- 244. AERONAUTICS porting position or folded with its outer ends rearwardly toward the rear of the airplane, a pair of steerable supporting Wheels mounted to and below said fuselage, control mechanism for steering said airplane While aloft, and a single steering Wheel Within said fuselage and selectively movable into eo-operative engagement With either said first control mechanism or said steerable supporting Wheels.

WILLIAM H. NELSCH. 

